San Jose Mercury News (California)
POSSIBLY COMING TO A TV NEAR YOU: Unflattering video footage of legislators yukking it up with health industry lobbyists at a couple of fundraisers may turn into embarrassing TV ads — if consumer advocates can raise enough money.
The scenes were filmed by a documentary crew that sneaked into the events. They were hired by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which is hoping to time a paid advertising blitz with the Legislature’s unveiling of a final bill on health care reform.
One lobbyist is seen picking lint off a legislator’s jacket; others laugh uproariously — and a bit toadishly — at legislators’ jokes.
When Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, notices the camera — aimed at him from knee level — he smiles embarrassingly and turns away from the camera.
The ad is aimed at calling attention to the part of the health care reform that would require everyone to buy insurance.
“They don’t understand how bad it looks to take so much money from the insurers,” said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, “and to give them a guaranteed market for their product without regulation of the cost.”
The group needs about $32,000 to air it on cable stations such as CNN for a week in Sacramento and a few targeted districts. The group has e-mailed the ad to the 80,000 people on its mailing list, asking for $50 contributions.
